Braves put Santana on DL with leg infection

WASHINGTON -- Shortly after arriving at Nationals Park Friday afternoon, Braves utility man Danny Santana was sent back to Atlanta and on to the 10-day disabled list with the hope that he does not have a staph infection.

The Braves revealed Santana has a bacterial infection on his calf, but they chose not to specify which leg is affected, indicating they want to wait for further evaluation to show whether the infection has already spread.

WASHINGTON -- Shortly after arriving at Nationals Park Friday afternoon, Braves utility man Danny Santana was sent back to Atlanta and on to the 10-day disabled list with the hope that he does not have a staph infection.

The Braves revealed Santana has a bacterial infection on his calf, but they chose not to specify which leg is affected, indicating they want to wait for further evaluation to show whether the infection has already spread.

Protecting against the possibility Santana is dealing with a contagious staph infection, the Braves sent Santana to the airport shortly after his teammates began arriving at Nationals Park for Friday night's game against the Nationals.

"I don't know that he's in a whole lot of pain," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "It's just something you don't want to mess around with and take the chance of anything spreading."

During Thursday night's series-opening win over the Nationals, the Braves medical staff informed Snitker that Santana was dealing with discomfort caused by a wound on his calf. The versatile veteran entered to play left field during the ninth inning.

But after noticing the ailment looked worse on Friday, the Braves medical staff determined Santana needed to be sidelined. Santana will learn the extent of his ailment when he is evaluated in Atlanta this weekend.

"They looked at him today, and it wasn't good again," Snitker said. "It was just something you don't want to mess around with. So, we sent him back."

Martin Prado missed a little more than a month after he was diagnosed with a staph infection on his leg while playing for the Braves in 2011.

"Hopefully, this doesn't get to be that same kind of situation," Snitker said.

After being acquired from the Twins in early May, Santana went hitless through his first 17 at-bats with the Braves. But he has since hit .286 and compiled an .842 OPS over 76 plate appearance. His speed has proven to be an asset both on the basepaths and in the outfield.

Santana will be eligible to be activated from the disabled list on July 17. If he does not have a staph infection, he could be cleared to play in Minor League games next week.

The Braves recalled Jace Peterson from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill the vacated roster spot. Peterson has hit .183 with a .516 OPS over 135 plate appearances with Atlanta this year.